The Board of Governors reception at the 57th Conclave in Denver served as an opportunity for members of SigEp’s lead donor group to celebrate record-shattering fundraising in support of the Educational Foundation over the last two years. More than 160 BOG members gathered for a time of fun and networking and to hear details of the tangible impact they’ve made for SigEp — even through a pandemic.

Outgoing SigEp National Advancement Chairman and Foundation Life Trustee Tom Barton, Loras ’89, opened the reception program with an announcement about the performance of the Annual Fund, which supports SigEp’s programs and areas of greatest need. “This is the biggest impact the Foundation has ever made for our undergraduates. Are you ready for it? Together, we raised…$1.1 million dollars,” Barton said, highlighting this record-breaking level of support for the Annual Fund.

Barton announced an impressive total of 427 Board of Governors members for the 2020-21 fiscal year. With this groundswell of support from BOG members — who were responsible for 60 percent of Annual Fund giving — SigEp’s leadership and educational programs reached a larger number of brothers than before.

“You’ve helped SigEp deliver more relevant programming to our undergraduates … reaching more brothers, even in a pandemic … not less!” said SigEp National Advancement Council member Scott Carr, California-Santa Barbara ’86. Carr pointed to the launch of Career Coaching during the pandemic, which has provided nearly 1,000 undergraduates with a career coaching session in its first semester.

“I have had the honor of mentoring such brothers,” Carr said. “I can assure you … from personal experience that this program is rewarding not only for the undergrads, but mentors as well.”

Leveraging the power of the SigEp network to match undergraduates with an alumnus who works in the career field they’re interested in, Career Coaching is one example of the expanded impact enabled by the Board of Governors family. Additional donor-enabled expansions include: the Ruck Leadership Institute, which reached four times more brothers than in the previous year, and relevant, expert-led monthly officer training sessions for undergraduate leaders.

Barton continued with an auction of two notorious brightly-patterned articles of clothing — the Eberstein jacket and Past Grand President Steve Shanklin’s pants, which raised an additional $20,000 combined for the Annual Fund. The event closed with the presentation of two Exemplary Service Awards and a heartfelt recognition of Barton for his leadership of the SigEp National Advancement Council.

The Board of Governors is made up of brothers and friends who give $1,200 or more to the Annual Fund each year (or $600 for those under 30). You can view the full list of 2020-21 and 2021-22 BOG members— or join the Board of Governors — here.